Medical assemblies which transmit electrical or optical signals from within the body to an external source are of increasing importance. These assemblies are made of cables which carry a signal by means of one or more conductive wires or fibers within the cable.
To one end of the cable, the distal end, is attached a sensing device that is adapted to sense a particular internal body condition. The sensing device can be a camera, a thermocouple, a pressure transducer, or the like. This end of the cable assembly is inserted into the body.
The other end of the cable, the proximal end, is external to the body and is connected to a unit that measures or records the signal input from the sensing device.
These cables must meet several key requirements. First, they must be flexible so that they can be anchored to the signal sensing unit and be easily manipulated to reach various parts of the body. The cable jacketing or covering must also be tough, i.e., cut and abrasion resistant, to protect the conductive wires and fibers.
The medical assemblies must also be sterilized for re-use. Sterilization may be accomplished by exposure to high temperature water vapor (steam) or specific organic liquids. It is very advantageous if the medical assemblies can be sterilized in either a steam autoclave or in a sterilizing organic liquid. An example of a sterilizing organic liquid is glutaraldehyde.
Presently, there are no such known medical assemblies which can be sterilized in both steam and sterilizing organic liquids.